A Glassboro Full of Mixed Uses

225 Rowan Boulevard

On May 14, 2014

225 Rowan Boulevard is a mixed-use project consisting of 52,000 square feet of office/classroom space, 9,600 square feet of first-floor retail and a 1,194-car parking garage. It is the latest phase of Glassboro’s 26-acre, $300-million Rowan Boulevard revitalization project that links Rowan University to the borough’s downtown retail district and is being developed in a public-private partnership between the Borough of Glassboro, Rowan University and private developers, including Nexus Properties, which also owns 225 Rowan, manages the building and operates the parking garage.

The five-story building houses the University’s College of Graduate and Continuing Education on floors two through five, thereby enabling Rowan to enroll more students and grow without using its own limited capital. The retail space will attract more shoppers to the downtown and contribute to the development of this smart growth project.

The seven-level parking garage is considered essential to the overall project. It provides parking for University students, guests at the adjacent Marriott Courtyard Hotel (also a component of the comprehensive redevelopment project), retail customers and employees. To encourage use of the Rowan Boulevard retail, the first level of the garage is not gated and provides 137 spaces of free, sensor-monitored, two-hour parking. It also offers parking for the numerous borough-sponsored events that attract downtown visitors and strengthen the sense of community.

The building façade is comprised of brick, cast stone and EIFS (Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems), which is a synthetic stucco-like material used to promote building sustainability and energy conservation. The combination of these surfaces creates the aesthetic look of individual townhouse units.

The $35-million 225 Rowan Boulevard project enlisted over 300 construction workers and will house approximately 70 full- and part-time employees in the retail space, parking garage and office/classroom building.

ARCHITECT
Blackney Hayes Architects
Philadelphia, PA

BUILDER
Nexus Properties
Lawrenceville

FINANCE ENTITY
M&T Bank
Iselin

NOMINATOR
Hon. Leo McCabe, Mayor
Borough of Glassboro

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